#ILookLikeAnEngineer – how one woman turned the tables on sexism in her industry

When software engineer Isis Wenger appeared in a recruitment campaign for her company, she quickly became the target of negative comments. Standing up for women like herself, she used social media to highlight the misogyny in her field

Engineer Isis Wenger faced negative comments after featuring in a recruitment campaign for her company.

A software engineer has started a conversation about sexism after a photo of her taken to help promote a recruitment campaign attracted a barrage of ignorant comments. Engineer Isis Wenger wrote a blog post describing how the ad had attracted criticism online, including accusations that she wasn’t “remotely plausible” as a picture of “what a female software engineer looks like”.

Pointing out the barrage of sexism that women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) face on a regular basis, Wenger started the hashtag #ILookLikeAnEngineer to break stereotypes about the industry. After clocking up more than 75,000 tweets and spreading to more than 50 countries, the hashtag has raised the important issue of the prejudice faced by female engineers and people working in STEM more widely.

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The director’s first words to me, in front of my team, were: ‘Ah, you’re the girl.’ I stood up and quietly replied: ‘No, I am the highest ranking computer engineer this company has in Europe.’A few weeks later, I was asked to organise a team night out, to a strip club.”

I informed a male work colleague that a new female engineer had started in our office, to which he replied: ‘Has she got a beard?’

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One woman was at a conference when the speaker patronisingly stopped the whole presentation to explain a basic technical term to her (the only female engineer in attendance). Another described a lunch where a male colleague described her engineering career as “against nature”. Another was told by a co-worker that she was “too cute” to be taken seriously.

And it isn’t only software engineers who are battling prejudice – women working in other areas of engineering are also speaking out.

I am an engineer in construction and get confused as the secretary all the time. It is really sickening and, to be honest, after nearly 15 years of it I just want to give up.

The first day on my new job as a civil engineer after graduating nearly made me rethink my career. Straight away my new boss insisted on getting me a pink hard hat, pink site boots, and a pink high-vis jacket to match. Really?

Once, at a job interview, the senior engineer asked me how I would react to getting dirt under my pretty nails.

But there is good news, too. A concerted effort is being made to try to redress the balance: organisations such as Wise and Stemettes have sprung into action to promote women and help shake off outdated stereotypes about Stem.

Indeed, many entries on the Everyday Sexism project make it clear that the problem is not restricted to the industry itself, but often starts in youth.

A teacher told me: ‘You could be an engineer, but not really. Just kidding. But you know what I mean.’ He later said: ‘It’s just not very likely, as a girl.’

The general reaction, from both males and females, when I tell them I’m studying mechanical engineering seems to be: ‘But you’re a girl, isn’t it too dirty for you?’

My flatmate studies to be an engineer. One of her professors told the women in his lecture to please not sit in the front row as he could smell their menstruation and it was ‘disturbing’ him.

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Clearly there is still a long way to go to address both the direct sexism many female engineers face within the workplace and the wider prejudice that suggests Stem isn’t a suitable career for women.

In the meantime, however, some women (and enlightened co-workers) are finding their own innovative ways around the problem.

Sexism is when two subcontractors walk into the site office and ask for someone from my company. I step up to greet them, but they look straight past me at my (male) boss, to ask him a question.

Feminism is when my boss looks at them, looks at me, turns his back and says: ‘Ask Holly, she’s the site engineer.’

Victory is the feeling you get when you see the faces of the two subcontractors, as they realise a woman half their age is the one in charge.

Thanks, boss.

At age 17, me and my boyfriend were talking about careers. After listening to him saying how passionate he was about being a doctor, I expressed my desire to become an engineer. He laughed and told me I’d better think of another option.